I absolutely love this series by American artist Evie Woltil Richner. Feathery, delicate drawings lovingly applied to old, family photos – memorializing those who are no longer with us. I would try to explain further, but Evie’s words are so much more powerful:

“…Each of these pieces is a burial, but also a memorial. Working from photographs of deceased relatives, I am physically burying them in a shroud of drawn feathers. Through burial, we acknowledge loss. The person is removed from our lives.
My Grammy, as I always called her, moved in with us when I was in elementary school. She had Alzheimer’s disease and we took care of her. Over time, I could see her memory disappearing. She would forget who people were and repeat the same stories and phrases over and over. She lives now only in my memory and in the memories of those who knew her, but my memories are wispy, like bits of dreams a few hours after you’ve had them. Some of the memories are barely there. I can see only a sliver of them. Afraid of the erosion of my own memory, my creations are also an act of remembrance – remembering my Grammy as she was when she lived with us, and also reconstructing who she might have been before I knew her. Through the ritual of drawing over images of her, I return to thoughts of her again and again.
When finished, the pieces become a signifier, like a gravestone, of a person who once was, and just as gravestones serve to connect us with a loved one after they’ve passed, these pieces are a physical connection I have to her. The feathers specifically reference the cross-cultural symbolism of the bird as a connection between heaven and earth.”

Beautifully said… and beautifully executed.

Found images, AND thread? Oh, be still my beating heart! California based artist Lisa Kokin is killing me with this work. Here are Lisa’s words about these images, from her Sewn Found Photos series:

Sometimes there are inscriptions on the back (“Susie, 7 years old”) but more often they come to me stripped of all identity. I sit in my studio and speculate about the nature of the photographed people’s lives. I will, of course, never know the truth, so I feel it is my job to give them new lives and rescue them from the obscurity they would be headed for were it not for me, humble servant of the arts. I try to invent an altogether different identity for them but of course, in the final analysis these works are more about me than any of the hundreds of anonymous individuals who appear in my work.

I am intrigued with other people’s photographic recording of their lives both for the generic quality they possess — the family and social rituals, studio portraits, vacation shots — and for the feeling of sadness and nostalgia that acquiring other people’s memories provokes in me. I feel somehow that it should be illegal to own them, yet since they are for sale it might as well be me who buys them.

… and this is literally only a fraction of her portfolio. Just wait til you see what she does with old books!

{I found the first image in the post on Pinterest, via Artsy Forager}

Oh my word. These mixed-media portraits by Montreal based artist Louis Boudreault grabbed me immediately! They are part of a series titled “Destiny”, as these are the childhood portraits of such greats as Picasso, Warhol, van Gogh, Elvis etc! So, so good. The sweet vintage {and famous!} faces in graphite, the bows, the stripes… and then, you realize this:

The scale! Oh, the scale!!!! ♥ ♥ ♥ {yes, three little hearts worth of love!}

And with that, I hope you enjoy the end of 2012 ~ I’ll see you in 2013! xo

‘

Love. This is the work of Spanish artist Luisa Chillida Bergareche. I couldn’t decide between her manipulated, metal sculptures, or her paintings… so you get both! She also works with monotypes, cuts canvas, and designs metal jewelry. Inspiration overload? Si.

Garage Gallery started as just that… a garage in LA where art was shown, shared, and sold affordably:

They had some amazing artists hang their work! Here are a few of my favorite pieces from various shows:

Love! {1) Ming Ong  2) Aaron McConomy  3) Alika Cooper}

Now, Garage Gallery has gone online, stretching their community from a neighborhood in LA, to the world!!!

Lovely… and boy oh boy, do they have some great artists in their roster. Again, a few of my faves:

Yep, this is definitely a garage I could hang out in all day long! Go check it out… right now! ; )

{The pieces above are the work of 1) Emily Barletta 2) Emma Lawrenson  3) Paz Lopez  4) Elliot Beaumont}

Oh my. Atlanta based artist Drew Tyndell has me wanting to move into a little, flat, wooden, multi-colored house. Pink & navy, straight angles & organic shapes, painted surface & exposed woodgrain… and of course, just the right amount of insane precision. Home sweet home.

{via Design for Mankind}

Gah!!! I’m not sure how many people know this, but the work of Canadian artist Ben Skinner was pretty much the reason I started The Jealous Curator. And he’s done it again. I’m jealous. These pieces are from his latest show, and they took my breath away when I saw them. Simple, every day objects silhouetted perfectly in gold leaf on black lacquered panels. So simple, and oh so stunning.

I am so happy to say that I wrote about Ben for the first time almost four years ago, and since then we have become good friends, and we even did a show together in 2011. But wait… there’s more! His latest text piece, made of a single row of candy sprinkles {which he placed one by one with tweezers, using a syringe to apply the glue}:

Yep, I will always be jealous {in a good way!} of my friend Ben. My crazy, crazy, crazy friend, Ben {a single row of candy sprinkles?!?!}

So, you all know how I feel about found image collage, right? If you’re unsure… I love it. LOVE IT! And the work of American artist Adrienne Slane is no exception – imagine how excited I was when these lovely little snipped n’ glued beauties arrived in my inbox?! Sigh. They make me want to flip through a whole stack of  natural history journals… with my scissors.

Yum. These are the layered, colorful, beautifully composed mixed media paintings of Austin based artist Xochi Solis.

Ok, I have been sitting here for about twenty minutes trying to figure out a way to say that they remind me the most beautiful, artsy, inner-workings… of sandwiches. How do I say that without totally offending Xochi! It’s meant as a compliment… I love sandwiches. And I love this work, especially when you see it in place, applied directly to a wall!!!

Yep, gorgeously delicious!

{via curate1k’s pinterest board}

Gah! So simple, so amazing! Damn, I wish I thought of that! You know who did?  Toronto based artist Cathy Daley. If you happen to be in LA in January, you can see some of her new work {oil pastel drawings, on vellum} at Edward Cella Art + Architecture. The show opens on January 5th, and runs until February 23 2013. Here’s a lovely little sneak peek:

♥